


The Turn

by Hillsofuhhtennessee



Category: KISS (US Band)
Genre: Also ft. vampire baby jokes and tubby middle aged dad Gene, Belly Rubs, Blood Drinking, Gen, KISS fantasy blurring with reality, Nausea, The tone shifts in this are really something tbh, Vampirism, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:28:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hillsofuhhtennessee/pseuds/Hillsofuhhtennessee
Summary: Takes place mid 1990 on the HITS tour.  Eric can’t ignore Gene's poor appetite lately and gets wrapped up in worry about what’s causing it.  Little does he know, it’s because of something he could never imagine, and even ties into why he’s been acting so stupid and out of it for the last 7 years.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	The Turn

Eric had watched Gene’s distraction and downfall after unmasking. The way he became increasingly, if not totally absent from the writing process and mailing shoddy demos of his parts. The way he went from threatening and snarky to going off on thoughtless pervy rambles in interviews because he thought people thought it was cool. The way he went from the most creative and expressive one in photoshoots to often looking droopy-eyed and dopey or just keeping the same serious face. They all blamed it on Hollywood and other ventures leading him astray from the band and general loss of interest in it. 

At least he’d seemed happy the last few years. As much as he’d always claimed he never wanted kids or any sort of permanent relationship, he’d fallen right into that in the past year or two and seemed to be in better spirits than he’d been in a long time. Eric didn’t always know how much to trust Gene with how much he would lie and exaggerate but it seemed genuine this time. His smile when he was around his son was warm and bright in a way he’d never seen before. That and he always seemed to put on weight in times of contentment. Which he certainly had recently. His already full cheeks grew even rounder, which had helped hide how he was pushing 40. His heavy jackets got more and more snug around the curve of his growing belly. It was especially obvious when they’d pulled out the old makeup-era costumes for the Rise to It video. The Unmasked-era gargoyle armor had been really flattering on him back then with how the bulk made him look more athletic. But by that shoot, it was impossible to hide his protruding gut. And when his breastplate was busted, nobody knew whether it was just the fault of age and abuse in storage or his girth. But he seemed comfortable with himself and was generally very healthy so Eric took little notice outside the occasional teasing the two would do. 

But what Eric couldn’t explain was Gene’s behavior more recently. He hadn’t been eating as much on tour. Which was bizarre for him because his constant snacking and lack of portion control were why he’d always been the big guy of the band. The rational explanation was that Paul was tired of him looking like a tubby middle-aged dad (which to be fair, was exactly what he was) and put him on a diet. But it didn’t explain why he started looking so pale. Unless he’d started starving himself or something, which was even more out of character for him. 

The other rational explanation was that he was sick and just didn’t want to tell the others. He had a very high pain tolerance and hid it well. Maybe he was having trouble with kidney stones again. It had happened before and he still kept on performing. But something still nagged at Eric. What if it was something worse? He knew he would be a worrywart but knowing Gene’s notorious promiscuity, he couldn’t get the fear of AIDS out of his mind. 

After one of the shows he brought some of Gene’s favorite snacks to his dressing room to see if he could coax him into eating or at least ask him what was wrong in private. He let him in without a hint of reluctance. 

“Hey, I know you’ve turned me down every time, but I brought you some cake again.”

Eric paused and swallowed before dropping the question, his hands damp from dread and uncertainty.

“Are you feeling okay? I’ve never seen you turn down cake once before until this, and especially not repeatedly.”

His eyes were wide with fear and concern behind his fluffy mane as he watched Gene sigh and look down reluctantly, seemingly trying to collect himself and explain something that couldn’t be good. Eric became tenser and tenser the longer he paused. 

“Eric, calm down.”

“That’s not helping! You’re just making it worse by leaving me in the dark about... whatever this is. I really don’t like how secretive you’re being. Just tell me if you’ll be okay or not!”

Gene sighed and shook his head.

“Eric, I don’t know what you think this is, but it’s not it. I’m just hesitating because it’s a complicated matter and I’m trying to think of how to explain it. I’m not going anywhere.”

Eric breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t relax fully. Why was Gene being so vague?

“So. How shall I put this? Do you remember in the old days how I’d bring ten or so girls to my room after shows and was always washing blood out of my teeth? And how I always told you it was just stage blood with a scent agent added? I was lying. It was real.”

“You’re... a cannibal? What the fuck, man? Why?”

“No. I’m a vampire.”

His brows knotted in confusion. Gene’s face was still flat. 

“So that whole Dracula business wasn’t all an act?”

“It was, but I did it to help hide the truth. Make people think I just act like a monster so they don’t realize I am one.”

Eric paused, utterly confused and a feeling a bit betrayed.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I haven’t told anyone about it. Not Shannon. Not Paul. Not even my own mother. I even forgot about it myself for years.”

“...... God, Gene, please don’t tell me you had a vampire baby.”

Gene finally cracked a grin and chuckled for once. 

“Oh, Eric. All the implications of this and that’s what you think of first? Don’t worry. I think I would have caught that while he was teething. Though for all I know, he won’t get his fangs until his adult teeth come in. Biology really isn’t my strong suit. I thought his umbilical cord was his dick, seriously. But at I know there aren’t thousands of vampire ladies draining blood banks around the world dry. We’d know by now.”

Eric couldn’t help but smile a little himself at the thought of sweet little Nick chomping on someone’s finger. But his face stiffened again as he returning to getting to the bottom of this.

“But what did you mean you forgot about it for years? How do you just forget you’re a vampire?”

“After we took off the facepaint it became hard to hide it when I transformed more physically. Honestly, it’s part of why I really pushed in that direction in the early days, the white really helped hide it when I grew paler as bloodlust took over. But I was also struggling to get a meal towards the end of that era at times with how desperate things could be. It was a total buffet of necks in the 70s with groupies everywhere and I just got more and more gluttonous and most of our crowds at the end couldn’t possibly sustain me. So I just forgot about it. Locked it all away. Didn’t use my powers at all. Suppressed any physical changes. Let the hunger keep growing until it just became a background sickness I could just accept as my default state and ignore. And that worked great for years. I’m used to hiding things. Changed my name and claimed I was from Transylvania in the early days, covered my face at the peak of the mania. So I was able to completely erase my bloodsucker side.”

He paused, starting to show some hint of hidden agitation.

“And then there was the Rise to It shoot.”

Eric gulped. He had mixed memories of it and being left out from dressing up. 

“Putting on the makeup again made it all come back. Made me remember what it was like to be that monster. Made me remember what that hunger was like. How unknowingly weak and stupid I’ve become as I’ve virtually starved myself for years. It was like noticing yourself breathing or blinking instinctually and realizing how much you’ve lost a skill you had from years of neglect at once. But worse. And it didn’t go away so easily. Fortunately I had a new son to take care of to help distract myself from it. I wasn’t back to where I was before, but I could at least still pass as normal. I tried to go back to ignoring it and returning to pseudo-human life. But now on tour I can’t escape that damn song and it sucks me back to that feeling. Seven years of starvation without death does something to you. You get sick with bloodlust. Human food loses all its appeal compared to fresh blood. Even cake is just like sand. The need constantly nags you. It becomes all you can think about, like a damn junkie.”

Eric grew concerned again as Gene’s breathing began to speed up as he was getting more emotional and... hungry. He was growing nearly white. The area around his eyes was darkening. 

“All I can think about is blood. Coursing through someone’s vessels and how I can’t have it because I’m too weak to brainwash them anymore and I can’t tell anyone my secret. Licking and smelling them all over to find a good vein to sink my teeth into. Gorging myself until I was sick on victim after victim, their life spilling down my cheeks and chin and staining my chest. Hot, thick, coppery fluid gushing in my mouth as I suckle their wound. The warm, heavy feeling as it pours down my throat-“

Eric slowly started to stand up and turn towards the door. 

Gene looked at him with a terrifying wide-eyed grin he hadn’t seen in years. Before he could get away, Gene leapt at him and pinned him against the wall. And sunk his teeth into his arm.

His technique abysmal from his hysteria and years without practice, the bite was full-mouthed and sloppy. Eric cried out in pain, but Gene clapped a hand over his mouth and silenced him. Mercifully, in a few seconds he felt nothing but soft lips mouthing at his skin and warm streams of blood dribbling down the sides. Gene chugged down the first mouthful like someone had handed him water in a marathon (not that he’d ever run one). The second was less hurried and hungry, a more casual drink. Then he dramatically slowed, struggling to swallow a third, then sitting up with his cheeks still bulging and a nauseous look on his face as he just barely got down a fourth, halting between sick gulps as he regretted his decision. 

He crumpled to his knees, breathing so heavily, utterly satisfied yet feeling like he just drank molten lead and just confessed to murder. The blood was so impossibly hot and heavy and rich that he immediately felt the drain from trying to digest it. Realistically, it shouldn’t have been much worse than a small cup of milk, but it felt like a massive binge for someone who’d starved himself of it for the better part of a decade. He eased onto his back on the floor and moaned in pain and fulfillment. 

Eric had hardly moved the whole time, shocked by everything he saw and felt and still trying to process Gene’s words. Gene was still limp, his chest utterly heaving. His face was quickly back to its natural tan, but his parted mouth and downward pulled lips and vacant expression showed just how exhausted and nauseous he was.

“Gene... Gene.... are you there? Please oh god don’t puke blood. Even if that used to be your thing. It’s terrifying when you’re just supposed to be a normal guy. Lemme get you some ginger chews to help your stomach. Please please please don’t get blood on the carpet, man. Can you hold tight for five minutes? Blink once for yes, twice for no.”

He blinked once. Eric sprinted out and back with the candies (to many confused stares at the bleeding and clearly human bitemark on his arm) and popped two in Gene’s mouth after slamming the door.

“You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Worst case scenario we’ll just leave you here until you can walk and we can get you to the hotel. Fuck man, I need to cover up this mess on my arm.”

Eric kept his eye on Gene while grabbing a clean towel to wrap his arm in for now. He chewed them and swallowed slowly. Very slowly. It was such an odd sight seeing him treat so objectively little food like a massive feast. When Eric returned to his side, Gene tugged his hand to where his belly met his chest and pulled it in light, sluggish circles. It sunk deep into his thick, doughy form. He didn’t feel full at all. But Gene couldn’t fake that kind of pain. He wasn’t that great of an actor. The ginger seemed to be having some effect, at least. He sighed as it calmed some of hot, heavy, bloated feeling in his gut. He was utterly exhausted and struggled to keep his eyes open, still breathing heavily. 

“Eric... Eric I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have done that. Now I’m gonna get stuck in that lifestyle again. Fuck.”

“You could have just asked! I would have let you as long as you didn’t just shark chomp me like that! I don’t even know enough about this... condition to even judge you. I’ll keep your secret. You can even have another bite sometime. I’m just worried about you going around attacking strangers again since it’s so much more dangerous than back in the 70s...”

“I survived before. I’ll survive again. Unwrap your arm for me. Lemme clean it up.”

Eric slowly uncovered the bite and brought it towards Gene’s face. He could see the remorse in his weary eyes looking at the ring of bright red bruises and punctures. He weakly nuzzled and licked at the healing wound, the pain and bleeding subsiding under his saliva. The worst of the bleeding subsided, he kissed it lightly before slumping back and falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a prompt from a friend (1JettaPug/ashestoashesvvi)
> 
> “Well into the 80s, KISS’ fame in Europe widened, and so did Gene’s waistline. He wasn’t terribly insecure about his body, but he could feel himself trying to tuck in for the cameras more and more.
> 
> Eric couldn’t imagine the reason why; not when the bassist had a perfectly healthy weight clinging to his figure. With all of the surplus food that the summer tour brought fourth, Eric definitely noticed when Gene declined the meals he’d brought back after shows for him. He was determined to prove to Gene that he was still the same powerful   
> Demon he always was.”
> 
> I moved it forward a year and flipped some things on their heads because I got attached to the concept of Rise to It reawakening the Demon/some other supernatural force in Gene after years of dormancy. I’m a sucker for tying things into reality as alternate history and the HITS era just worked so well for this. 
> 
> For how serious and thought-out the actual subject matter in this is I feel I added way more stupid jokes than usual. The thought of vampire babies just kept making me laugh.


End file.
